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Speaking to the Daily Post from the States, where she will spend the next few months, the former Ysgol Glan Clwyd pupil said: “It all started in October when I developed a lump in my mouth and started having bad headaches.

“I went to the dentist because I thought the lump was an abscess.

“They did X-rays and said there was nothing there so they sent me to Sunderland Royal Hospital where a biopsy was taken.

“It was November last year when I was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and was referred to Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

“I’d never heard of anything like it, I was so shocked that I actually had it to be honest.”

Miss Jones added: “I had a 36-hour long operation in April to remove my left eye and have my upper jaw and facial structure around the left side replaced with titanium.

21-year-old Ceri Jones from Cwm near Dyserth had to have an eye removed and her face reconstructed after being diagnosed with rare cancer, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, which affects the salivary glands of the head and neck. (Image: Ceri Jones)

“I was under sedation for two weeks while they did it and took skin and muscle from my right thigh to replace the left and side palate in my mouth, and they had to connect major arteries to blood vessels in my neck so the palate would keep alive.”

But there were complications when Miss Jones’ brain started leaking fluid and she needed a lumber puncture in her spine.

She was then put on a life support machine but luckily pulled through.

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Two months later and the NHS has funded Miss Jones’ flights and accommodation so that she can undergo proton radiotherapy in America, as standard radiotherapy can break down her bone structure and cause major problems to her face and mouth in the future.

But in the meantime, she still has to survive and cover bills, food and travel expenses for the months ahead and so a GoFundMe page has been set up to help with hopes to raise £5,000.

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Miss Jones’ mum, Sarah Evans said: “I relive this nightmare every day from the day we took Ceri to Liverpool to the day she came home and the morning she went down to theatre for the longest life-changing surgery and the complications she had thereafter.

“Seeing my daughter on life support was a horrific sight I will take to my grave.

“It has been an awful time for Ceri but hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel now.

“We are keeping everything crossed that the treatment will be effective.

“I’m so proud of the bravery and strength Ceri has shown throughout all of this, she’s an inspiration.”